Marcellus Memories

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Griffing are the proud great-grandparents to their grandson, Stephen Potucek, III. Stephen was born on September 19th. Mrs. Potucek is the former Joyce Patterson. Little Stephen, III can also boast that he has four grandparents and another set of great-grandparents besides Mr. and Mrs. Griffing.

The Marcellus J-V Mustangs beat Minoa 13-0. The team, coached by Steve Mathe, had a strong defense which the Minoa attack could not get through. All the Minoa passes were knocked down by the Mustangs. Sandy Johnstone, quarterback, intercepted a long pass in the 2nd quarter and went deep into Minoa territory. Minutes later he scored the first TD. Ron Martinez, end,, also intercepted a pass and carried the ball to the 2-yard line. Chuck Shinaman, halfback, made the last touchdown for the Mustangs in the 3rd quarter on a roll-out from the 10 yard line. Joe Frischolz converted.

The crashing Weedsport Warrior line tried to hold the Varsity Mustangs but did not have too much success. The hard-driving Mustangs went off the field with a 14-O lead at halftime over the Cayuga County champs. George Hall, junior halfback, opened the scoring for Bill Skye’s eleven with a seven yard run, late in the first quarter and fullback Vince Townsend went for the extra point. Townsend charged back minutes later to score another six points. Junior Mike Olenych carried the ball to make the extra point and end the half. The Marcellus front line bolstered by Pete Ilacqua and Tom Mullens held the Warriors to short gains throughout the contest. Guard Dave Bush, linebacker, accounted for many of the Warrior downfalls. Gambling late in the fourth quarter cost Weedsport a touchdown when Dave Lukins picked up the loose ball and rambled 45 yards to a TD. John Parry came in to make the extra point. David Driver, quarterback, connected with Parry for the Mustangs final score. This was a 32 yard pass and ended the scoring with the Mustangs in the lead 28-0. The next game will be against Solvay.

Celebrate family and loved ones today. Take time to tell them how much they mean to you and how important they are in your life.

“Memories of Marcellus” by Frank Griffing continues…Byron Sarr and Ellsworth Knowles collected taxes in my shop for two years, which brought people in and that made business for me. That was after 1910 and a bank was opened up. The bank was a great boost for Marcellus. In those days we didn’t have to pay for a checking account. In 1909, Ward Curtis opened a harness shop in the old post office building that was where the bank is. In 1910, the bank bought the building and the property and opened the bank in the small building. So I bought the stock that Ward had. In those days I sold lots of hand powered cow and horse clipping machines and sheep shears. I also had a hand-powered grinder for sharpening the knives. Thomas Taylor did lots of sheep shearing. One of his boys went with him and cranked the machine. I ground the knives for them. Will Dye was the trucker about town. He drew lots of goods for me from the trolley and the M & OL station. Will was a good man for that work. He was one of the best horsemen around. His horses were always in top shape and his harness was always fitted. Many people drove horses but didn’t know how to fit a harness. Ed Quigley bought out Will. He had the route a short time and sold it to Hugh Woodford. Hugh liked horses. Any man that liked horses would keep his harness and wagon in good shape. (more later.)

Cherish all your happy times together; they make a soft pillow for old age.